Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. system, comprising: at least one upstream port for coupling to a host; at least one downstream port for coupling to at least one downstream device; at least one transaction translator (TT) comprising one or more circuits and coupled to the at least one downstream port, wherein the one or more circuits are configured to: split a communication received from the downstream device at the first speed into a plurality of packets when the host communicates at a second speed and does not support the first speed; transmit an acknowledgment signal to the downstream device, wherein the acknowledgement signal is indicative of having received the communication and wherein the acknowledgment signal triggers an additional communication from the downstream device on the downstream port; adjusting a toggle bit on at least one of the plurality of packets wherein the toggle bit is used by the host to confirm receipt of the plurality of packets; adjusting a polling rate associated with the frequency of requests for communications from the downstream device; and send the plurality of communications to the host device at a second speed wherein the second speed is slower than the first speed.
A USB hub system includes an upstream port to connect to a host computer and one or more downstream ports for connecting to devices that operate at a high USB speed. A transaction translator (TT), made of electronic circuits, is connected to the downstream ports. If the host only supports a slower USB speed, the TT splits data received from a high-speed device into smaller packets. After receiving data from the device, the TT sends an acknowledgment to signal receipt and prompt the device to send more data. The TT then adjusts a toggle bit in the packets, which the host uses to confirm receipt of each packet, and adjusts the rate at which the host requests data from the device before forwarding the packets to the host at the slower USB speed.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one upstream port, the at least one downstream port, and the at least one TT is comprised in a hub, wherein the hub is configured to operate at one or more of a USB full speed, a USB high speed, and a USB super speed.
The USB hub system described above, including the upstream port, downstream port, and transaction translator, is integrated into a single hub device. This hub can operate at USB full speed, USB high speed, or USB SuperSpeed, allowing it to handle different USB speed standards.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one downstream device comprises a high speed inter-chip (HSIC) device.
In the USB hub system described in the first claim, the high-speed downstream device is a High-Speed Inter-Chip (HSIC) device. HSIC is a chip-to-chip communication standard that uses high-speed USB for efficient data transfer between components within a device.
4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising: at least one first speed physical interface (PHY), wherein the at least one TT is interposed between the at least one first speed PHY and the host, wherein the at least one TT is not used when the host supports the first speed.
The USB hub system described in the first claim includes a physical interface (PHY) that supports the high-speed USB standard. The transaction translator sits between this PHY and the host computer. The transaction translator is only used when the host doesn't support the high-speed USB standard, enabling communication with the high-speed device even with a slower host.
5. The system of claim 1 , further comprising: an internal hub coupled to the at least one upstream port and the at least one TT; and at least one first speed PHY, wherein at least one downstream port of the internal hub is coupled to the at least one first speed PHY and is separately coupled to the first speed PHY via the at least one TT; wherein, when the host does not support the first speed, the at least one TT is configured to convert communications sent from the host via the at least one downstream port of the internal USB hub for the at least one first speed PHY; wherein, when the host supports the first speed, internal hub is configured to provide the communications sent from the host to the first speed PHY without the at least one TT.
The USB hub system described in the first claim includes an internal hub connected to the upstream port and the transaction translator. At least one downstream port of this internal hub is connected to a high-speed USB physical interface (PHY) both directly and via the transaction translator. If the host doesn't support the high-speed USB, the transaction translator converts communications from the host to the high-speed PHY. However, if the host does support high-speed USB, the internal hub sends communications directly to the high-speed PHY without using the transaction translator.
6. The system of claim 1 . wherein, when the host supports the first speed, the at least one TT is configured to pass through communications sent from the host at the first speed to the downstream device.
In the USB hub system described in the first claim, if the host computer supports the high-speed USB standard, the transaction translator simply passes through the communications sent from the host to the high-speed downstream device without modification.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second speed comprises USB full speed.
In the USB hub system described in the first claim, the slower USB speed at which the host communicates when it does not support the faster USB speed is USB full speed.
8. The system or claim 1 , wherein the first speed comprises USB high speed.
In the USB hub system described in the first claim, the faster USB speed supported by the downstream device is USB high speed.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more circuits are further configured to: aggregate a plurality of communications sent from the host at the second speed; and send the aggregated communications to the downstream device at the first speed.
In the USB hub system described in the first claim, the transaction translator also combines multiple smaller packets sent from the host at the slower speed into a larger communication. It then sends this combined communication to the high-speed downstream device at the high-speed USB speed. This allows the high-speed device to receive data more efficiently.
10. A method, comprising: determining whether a host supports a first speed or a second speed, wherein the first speed is higher than the second speed, wherein said determining is performed after connecting a hub apparatus to the host; if the host communicates at a second speed and does not support the first speed: receiving a packet from a downstream device at the second speed; splitting the communication received from the downstream device at the first speed into a plurality of packets; sending a handshake signal to the downstream device wherein the handshake signal is indicative of having received the communication and wherein the handshake signal triggers an additional communication from the downstream device; adjusting a toggle bit on at least one of the plurality of packets wherein the toggle bit is used by the host to confirm receipt of the plurality of packets; adjusting a polling rate associated with the frequency of requests for packets from the downstream device; and sending the packet to a downstream device at the first speed; if the host does support the first speed: sending the packets to the downstream device at the first speed.
A method for handling USB communication involves first determining if a host computer supports a high USB speed or a slower USB speed after connecting a hub. If the host only supports the slower speed: a packet is received from a downstream device operating at high speed, which is split into smaller packets. After receiving a packet from the downstream device, a handshake signal is sent back to the device to indicate receipt and trigger the device to send the next data. A toggle bit within one or more of the packets is adjusted, as the host uses this bit to verify packet receipt, and the polling rate for requesting data from the device is adjusted. The packets are then sent to the host at the slower USB speed. If the host supports the high speed, the packets are sent directly to the downstream device at high speed.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein said receiving, sending a handshake signal, adjusting, and sending the packet are performed by a second speed to first speed transaction translator.
The method described above, including receiving the data from the downstream device, sending the handshake signal, adjusting the toggle bit and polling rate, and sending the data to the host, is performed by a transaction translator that converts between the slower and faster USB speeds.
12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the host comprises a USB host configured to operate at a USB full speed and wherein the downstream device comprises a USB device configured to operate at a USB high speed.
In the method for handling USB communication described above, the host computer is a USB host that operates at USB full speed, while the downstream device is a USB device that operates at USB high speed.
13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the downstream device comprises a high speed inter-chip (HSIC) device.
In the method for handling USB communication described above, the high-speed downstream device is a High-Speed Inter-Chip (HSIC) device, enabling chip-to-chip communication using high-speed USB.
14. The method of claim 10 , wherein said determining is performed by a hub configured to operate at one or more of a USB full speed, a USB high speed, and/or a USB super speed.
In the method for handling USB communication described above, determining whether the host supports the high or slow speed is performed by a hub. This hub can operate at USB full speed, USB high speed, or USB SuperSpeed, allowing it to adapt to different USB standards.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the downstream device and the hub are comprised in a common device.
In the method for handling USB communication where a hub determines the supported USB speed, the downstream device and the hub are integrated into a single physical device.
16. The method of claim 10 , wherein the second speed comprises USB full speed, wherein the first speed comprises USB high speed.
In the method for handling USB communication described above, the slower USB speed at which the host operates is USB full speed, and the faster USB speed at which the downstream device operates is USB high speed.
17. The method of claim 10 , wherein said sending the packet is performed by a first speed physical interface (PHY).
In the method for handling USB communication described above, the step of sending the packet to the downstream device is performed by a physical interface (PHY) that supports the high-speed USB standard.
18. The method of claim 10 , wherein said adjusting is performed by a second speed to first speed transaction translator (TT), wherein said sending the packet is performed by a first speed PHY, wherein the second speed to first speed TT is interposed between the host and the first speed PHY.
In the method for handling USB communication described above, adjusting the toggle bit and polling rate is performed by a transaction translator (TT) that converts between the slower and faster speeds. The high-speed physical interface (PHY) sends the packets. The transaction translator is placed between the host and the high-speed PHY, enabling communication when the host doesn't natively support the high speed.
19. The method of claim 10 , further comprising: receiving a packet from the downstream device; splitting the packet into a plurality of smaller packets; and sending the plurality of smaller packets to the host device at the second speed.
The method described in claim 10 additionally includes: receiving a data packet from the high speed downstream device; splitting the packet into several smaller packets; and sending the smaller packets to the host computer at the slower speed.
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August 5, 2014
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